


In the Land of Giants

by SLWalker



Category: due South
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-18
Updated: 2012-06-18
Packaged: 2017-11-08 01:05:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/437436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SLWalker/pseuds/SLWalker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Turnbull's POV while he was playing Gulliver.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Land of Giants

**Author's Note:**

  * For [exbex](https://archiveofourown.org/users/exbex/gifts).



He had not yet given terribly much thought about having children.

When one was tied up behind a desk, however, there was little more to do than think.

It was little surprise the children had found the first few paragraphs somewhat boring; the formal language hadn't been easy for him when he was young, either, though his sister was an excellent storyteller. So, he wasn't shocked when the youngest -- Suzie -- jumped up and declared she wanted to play it out. Robbie met that with mutual enthusiasm; Annie just rolled her eyes, sat back and observed.

Such was how he found himself bound like Gulliver with jumprope and a little girl sitting high on his chest.

"You're going to eat us!" she said, pointing a little finger at his face. "You'll grind our bones to make your bread!"

Admittedly, it was quite a departure from the book, but Renfield was game enough. "Oh, no, I'm a gentleman!"

"Nu uh, because you're starving and shipwrecked and a _giant_!"

"But it would be inhospitable!" he protested, his best courtly voice, even as he felt himself being tied by what he presumed to be more jumprope. Robbie was apparently doing his best to get into method acting.

Suzanne made a face, scrunching her nose up and making it difficult for Renfield not to melt. "There's no hospital in this story."

"Quite right," Renfield assured. "I meant, it would be impolite."

"Oh." She looked briefly perplexed, then moved off of his chest. "Well, Mister Gulliver, our bones are not making flour."

It was about then that Renfield realized he was being wrapped in telephone line from the Inspector's desk, and just as he had tried to get his hands loose -- "Now, those aren't supposed to--" --Annie decided she was going to engage. Of course he could have gotten out, at least at that point, but probably not without hurting them in the process. The Consulate door was locked -- hopefully some deterrent -- and their bed was already made. Apparently, so was his -- they were shockingly good at tying people up.

"I haven't finished the story yet!" he had protested, somewhat more pleadingly than he preferred.

"I can read to them myself," Annie said, a worryingly jaded tone for her age, and Renfield didn't really want to know why the inspector kept duct tape in her desk. No more than he wanted to know why Constable Fraser waxed his forearms.

He tried some muffled protests after that, to no avail. He tried turning around and unraveling himself, likewise to no avail. He huffed a sigh through his nose, listening to the children as they wandered to their own made beds, and hoped that their mother and Constable Fraser would return soon.

He listened to them talk about how they were left with strangers again. How they missed their father. How they wanted to go home.

All their little vulnerabilities and childish wishes, meant to be unheard.

Constable Fraser and Ms. Morse did return, though that did him little good despite his muffled yells. He listened to their dancing around each other, and then the quiet as he settled in for a long, uncomfortable night.

There was little else to think about. Eventually, before drifting to an uneasy doze, he concluded two things: Should it ever be possible, yes, he wanted children. And tomorrow, if he was to watch them, he would try to give them something warm, and happy, and _exhausting_ to remember, even if he couldn't give them what they wished for.

The case concluded the next day with the children being reunited with their father, on the promise of returning home, after a long nap, which had been preceded by a very long walking tour of Chicago, complete with a trip to the zoo and ice cream.

Annie smiled, despite trying to hide it, when he gave her his copy of Gulliver's Travels.


End file.
